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This is the first part of my guide, the introduction. I hope you will enjoy ! ;D

-Frakk2000-

1. Introduction

Twink; A character with equipment pushed to the limit of what is with Over Equipped rules / A character who can use nano programs much earlier than intended.

(This is my view of a twink) ^^

I have been playing AO for some time now, and there was always a part of AO I could never try out, PvP. Reason to this was, my main's are made up of looks, and not from "uberness".

To try out this side of AO, I wanted to make a low level character, and max out what armor/weapon I could put on him.

I can test things on my twinks before I do them on my mains.

After a lot of trying and testing, I have made some special twinks, or what I call them "WWT" - Weird Weapon Twinks.

My best twink to this date is my level 12 Martial Artist with a Katana. Not uber, but very versatile.

When making a twink, it can be similar to making a alt, but there are often some "goals" of the twink:

a) A special weapon you want to try
b) A special nano you want to try
c) A specific level you want to reach (74 is the ever popular level)
d) Testing tactics

These are just a few, but when making twink vs. an alt means, you have some specific goals other than reaching level 200.

There are some things you might want to watch out for, at low levels at specific levels, some classes will find it difficult to fight each other, a good example is the soldier class, who is based upon its Total Mirror Shield. So it would be smart to twink your char, so that he would be able to use this shield, and not just rely on damage..

There are also some nasty gaps in low level twinks; I have a good example:

At level 10, you can make a mp that can self cast a healing pet, attack pet, and perhaps even a stun pet. This will allow the mp to have three pets’ heals and the mp itself; the result is;

When duelling an mp with three pets, you cannot take down the mp itself; cuz the attack pet would take you down. And you cannot take down the heal pet, cuz the mp can recast it.

You would need to do 1 of the following to kill a mp (a good twink):

a) Kill the heal pet and the mp
b) Kill the mp before the heal pet can heal him
c) Root the pets

An mp would therefore have a big problem against traders and perhaps other rooting classes.

But other dmg dealing classes would have big problems. I know my ma does . Later on as a mp, other classes have no problem taking you down.

Like when a doctor can cast ch vs. when he cannot, it makes a big difference in pvp.

I can run through a couple of "usual" twinks you run into in the arena:

Id say; choose a profession, then a breed, some breeds are better at being twinked, and some breeds might prove better at the end.

Let me get started at the professions then

a) Adventurer

- The Adventurer is an all-rounder. He has no real weak spots, but neither does he excel in any field. Adequate healing abilities, both through nano-technology and equipment use, makes for a well-rounded solo career as well as a good team player. The shape-shift programs are unique to the profession, giving the Adventurer that little extra touch. The Adventurer is the yardstick against which every other profession is judged. (Ao Manual)

The text says it all, it is a all-round profession, but as it is very all-round, it does not top it self in pvp. I don't know why it shouldn't be a good class, but it just seems that way.

So what is good about a adventurer?

Melee. They are excellent sword users, both in 1h edged and 2h edged. They are also good pistol users, but pistols never made it all the way up in pvp, so a melee adventurer would have the edge on a pistol one.

The adventurer also has a wide range of morphs to use, from leet form, to dragon. The morphs add alot of different stats. Like the grinning hunter gives + to crit and dmg output, but lowers run speed, so it might be good at arena fights, but poor at outdoor duels.

An uncharted way of the adventurer is the new Ithaca shotgun/pistol range. Fast, duck explosive, and adventurer only. You might want to give em a try; only drawback is their rarity.

The most common twinked adventurer is a Byom blade/Sol Fire F wielding one. Common armor is Carbonum/Senpai range, but since this is a versatile class, I would say, go with whatever you think looks cool . I have seen some use bronto armor, you might want to give it a look. Adventurers also have a lot of adv only things check the database for special weapons and armor (Hints: Gutting Hook / Cloak of the Wandering Knight and so on).

Skills for Adventurers:

Abilities: This section is a bit blurry, but I would recommend to at least raising agi for twinking, and perhaps stamina, but you might be able to twink within other abilities too. Just remember to raise some for armor too. Body dev and nano pool are of course on the list.

Body: Brawling/Dimach for melee users. (you might even want to raise adventuring for some adv only armor)

Ranged Weapons: Pistol / Flingshot / Multi Ranged / Might have to raise Ranged Energy for some goodie guns (Freedom Arms, if you get your hands one a couple)

Speed: Ranged init / Melee init / NanoC init / Evades / Runspeed

Trade and Repair: Complit(!) / And perhaps Tutoring

Nano and Aiding: You might want to leave out some skills, check out the nano section of Antiguardians before you do. First Aid (low levels) / Treatment (!).

Spying: Nah. If you want, pop some in concealment / perception

Navigation: *shrug*

--
Ups: Good Melee users, healing, morphs

Downs: Just not that cutting pvp edge.

I would give the adventurer a +++ out of 5 twinkage points.

--

b) Agent

- The Agent is perhaps the most versatile of all the professions, simply because he can become all the other professions through the use of nano programs. This ability makes for some interesting combinations that only the most imaginative and skilled are sure to excel in. The Agent also has a few specialties of her own, but tends to have poor health. (Ao Manual)

What is good about Agents?

Rifle and crit. A quick explanation to the agent. Agents don't win battles with large hp and much damage over time. They strike fast and hard. With their 100% crit nano, they can launch a volley of crits over the poor rooted guy.

The most common twinked agent is a Opifex with sense agi armor(red ma suit) and a X-3 rifle (Or Gripo at low levels). (Almost forgot, use a crit scope, (E)LLTS or Vision Enchancer.)

The problem with the agent is it's dark nano skills, and you would want a lot in all of them, (or if you have a chosen line of nanos, you might be able to cut back on some of em).

Ranged: Rifle / Aimed Shot. (Some agents use an Ithaca shotgun (the good old school ones).)

Speed: Ranged Init (Many use crit scopes, and raising ranged init will flatten this). Evades (if you have the ip, you can hope that your opponent is dead before he get's a hit at ya.) NanoC init (cast those roots fast). Nano Resist (Might be useful).

Nano and Aiding: Im not so familiar with all the nanos (up in levels) but I would say most of the nano skills are useful, since you can go false profession to cast em. First Aid / Treatment (!) [edit: Agents do have dark nano skills, time space darkest.]

Doctor And Enforcer

c) Doctor

- The Doctor is the master of keeping people alive, but can also turn his knowledge of living tissue into a deadly weapon. From the view of the other professions, he is possibly the most popular addition to any team. A Doctor is always needed as he if often the one who has to save the day when the going gets a little bit tougher than expected.

So, what's good about a doctor in PvP?

Well, first of all, they are the best healers ingame, so killing them usually proves a challenge. They also have hp buffs, and hot's.

If you want to make a doctor twink, you must remember its biomet / mat met skills, they are the backbone of the doctor, and deprives and incompetences do hurt. Doctors also have very nice Damage Over Time nanos, and some of them stack as well, so have a look into this. (Check http://aomed.tripod.com/

Weapons for a doctor is a nice chapter, well, at least in diversity, since almost all your skills are deep blue, you can go for whatever gun you like (pistol is a bit lighter). Id suggest a Ithaca or a x-3. But of course, you can go for whatever you like Some also make ma doctors; you might want to check this out in PvP. At low levels, this might be hard.

A common doctor twink looks like the adventurer twink, with str/agi armor, but I would recommend both carbonum and bronto. Some also like to go str/sta (With their weapons) so omni-pol armor works too.

Abilities: Raise nanopool / hp, and make sure you got some good abilities to twink on, then check for ac.

Body: Ma / Brawl / Dimach

Ranged: Rise whatever skills required for your weapon.

Melee: Same as above. (Parry if you have the ip)

Speed: NanoC init, if you can, get a 6-slot belt and a nano recompiler. Then the defensive skills (Evades) and whatever speed required for your gun/sword. Make sure you put some in Nano Resist too.

Trade and Repair: As a doctor, you have light skills here, so a (e)LLTS is nice, but don't waste ip in this skill dep if you can spare em. Just remember Complit

Nano Aiding: Bio Met(!) / Mat Met(!), check the other skills for what you want to use (hp boost, team hp buff, hot, dot and so on). First Aid / Treatment.

- The Enforcer is a one-man demolition team specializing in close combat, swinging everything from small daggers to huge hammers with ease and competence. He is able to both deal and sustain a large amount of damage, boosted by his highly specialized nano programs. However, keeping up with the skill costs of these programs can get costly indeed.

Welcome to damage.

The enforcer is a excellent pvp character, they might be difficult a low levels, without their mongos and essenses. All in all they are made up of this: Melee and Hp.

They are excellent to twink, due to their self-only melee buffs. So a melee weapon would fall natural for them. Most common is the Atrox Beam wielder. The Alloy Staff / Lead Pipe combo is also good. I have also seen a couple using 2h edged at low levels (EoT anyone?) longmoon / true katana is nice for this weapon line.

You might want to have a look at their nano skills; they have an excellent line for use in PvP, with their dmg shields and their hp buffs/melee buffs.

You might want to use str / sta armor on your enforcer, they have essenses for this as well as atroxes beeing the most common class, omni-pol armor as well as the different plasteel (not recommended, but looks cool - Sekutek can be used). Some also prefer solitus, with senpai. (As Kaiousama said, you might want to stick on a carbonum armor too, some good points there ;D)

Abilities: Str/Sta. Hp.

Body: Brawl / Dimach

Melee: 1hblunt / 2hblunt / 1hedged(Raiders) / 2hedged / Parry

Ranged: Don't go there.

Speed: Melee Init / Defensive skills / Nano Resist

Trade and Repair: Complit (!) (Tutoring if you need too).

Nano Aiding: Bio Met / Mat Met / Sprinkle some in the other skills for your weapon buffs and so on. I think you can drop out time space (need some for nano kits of course).

Spying: Undercover agent enforcer? Nop. If you have the ip, toss some in concealment / perception.

- The Engineer is the master of construction, both by conventional means and through the use of nano programs. His robot is his weapon and protection, and an Engineer is easily recognizable by his ever-present automated friend. The Engineer prefers to dabble in man-made items, rather than focus on other skills such as combat. That does not mean, however, that an Engineer can't defend himself. Corner an Engineer and you will have quite a fight on your hands.

Normally I would say; don’t go there. But I know the engineer have some hidden specialties. Almost all classes can be good, if you only play them right. This class is special, first of all, it is not a class meant to be alone in combat; they use robots to do their dirty work. One of the reasons the engineer is poor in pvp, is cuz of their dark blue combat skills, but as I said before, don't let that set you back. They also lack the ability to manipulate their hp, as in healing or hp boosts. Due to this, they usually don't last very long. My tip to you; Go for a alpha weapon. Then move in for the kill with a fast/hard dmg-hitting gun. And use your pet as backup. This class also relies on outside buffs, so I would recommend fighting in open 25% zones. When you got some levels on your back, you can use slayerdroid transference to go ma engi. (slayerdroid +300 ma skill / ffok +120). Perhaps if kamikaze robot would work, then you would have your alpha strike there

I have seen very few engineer twinks, so I cannot say what would be the best outfit for one, perhaps flashpoint and a nova flow to finish off? A good ol carbonum outfit would seem like a good option for the engie.

Abilities: Hp, agi / sta for ac?

Body: Ma / Brawl / Dimach if you go ma engie

Melee: If you go for a melee solution, raise the skills needed here, and perhaps put some ip into parry

Ranged: I know engies have a nice grenade / Pistol buff

Speed: Ranged Init (Engies also have a nice initbuff, but their nano skills might be ip'ed into other places for conserving) Defensive skills, nanoresist, runspeed?

Trade And Repair: This is the homelands of the engie, to bad they don't work in pvp Complit (!)

Nano Aiding: Mat Met / Mat Crea / Time Space / Treatment / First Aid

Spying: *Shrug*

Ups: AC / Reflect Sheilds / Robot(?) / Pistol-Grenade buff

Downs: Not really good at pvp, you would need a good tactic first

I give engies + of 5 twink points (Sorry for that one, they suck atm)
--

f) Fixer

- The Fixer is at home indoors, with traps, locks and other devices, and a Jack (or Jill)-of-all-Trades. He tries to learn everything easily enough so he can rely on himself and count to be relied upon. A great solo profession, and also good in a team, the Fixer can easily travel all around Rubi-Ka by using his unique nanos that lets him access "The Grid". However, trying to maintain a high level in all skills (especially the rather expensive nano skills) can be an expensive commitment for the Fixer.

Actually, they don't mention this: Fixer = Evades. With their smurf-suit (grid armor) they are almost immortal. This also means they are one of the best pvp classes in the game.

If you get your hands on a grid armor nano, it is almost worth to make a fixer twink, just to use this grid armor. The fixer have all the strong points in pvp, Heal Over Time, Roots, Evades, and powerful weapon buffs. I have met so many fixer twinks, have also tested a couple, and I can say this; they are the best (if played right).

So what do they use? Grid armor of course, and a nice smg, perhaps a OT Kerans, some like the Sol Chironis, some prefer chemical maussers.

sorry but you forgot one thing

Make sure your level 74 twink never get to 75 or if this ever happens never enter a 25 or 0% zone cause you can be sure the 125 levels difference dont cause me and others any bad feeling when i/we alpha them to death repeatadly ^^

Crat And Ma

Time for more professions, this time the crat and ma.

g) Bureaucrat

- The Bureaucrat normally shies away from direct combat, preferring to focus on mental manipulation and the control of robot servants. He has a large selection of nano programs at his disposal, where pacification, fear, and experience buffs are unique for the profession. He takes some concentration to fully utilize, but can be very rewarding, especially for the socially minded player.

So, what do you get? This profession can deliver pets, roots, charms, and nukes. A almost forgotten class, they are hard to play in PvP, but I have had some good fights against a couple of twinked crats. I love their diversity and that you need lots of tactics to play em.

What do you want to go for when making a crat? Their nukes are good, (of course not NT good, but they do their jobs). I would go for some of the same tactics as a NT, root, alpha and nuke em for the rest. (Just make sure you don't fall in-between some levels nuke-vise). Perhaps sacrifice some skills to make up for some extra skills needed for a Flashpoint or a heavy suppressor?

Most of the crat twinks I have seen have been using a x-3 and various armor, I think most of em go for looks And for back worn armor, you do not want to long for a crat suit instead of your web cloak or albrechts.

Abilities: Agi / Stamina for twinking, then go for whatever you like of armor, just make sure you have decent ac to withstand some shots. Hp and nanopool.

Body: Yep, seen some ma crats too, ma / brawl / dimach if you want to go for this solution.

Melee: If you choose to go melee, then raise the needed skills for this.

Ranged: Same as above.

Speed: weapon ini, and evades (you might be a bit confident and cut back on evade close combat, just pray those roots work.) NanoC init

Trade And Repair: Complit (!)

Nano Aiding: I think you can cut back on biomet / mat met if you don't want to go for pet repair or charms (Charms are no use in pvp). I would not invest heavy in them. Sense Imp for snares and calms. (I think you would be good off investing some in this feild (for pet control) ). Treatment and First Aid of course.

- The Martial Artist is a spiritual warrior, mastering the silent bow and unarmed combat. Some Martial Artists may even decide to follow their path to illumination with melee weapons as an aid. His focus is absolute, making him a deadly foe, especially when he puts his arsenal of nano programs to proper use. However, the same focus makes the Martial Artist pay dearly in all other fields.

The ma is a deadly foe in PvP, healing, LOTS of dmg, and most of all, crits. They do nasty crits (BuHu, nerfing in next patch - Ranged Weapons). They can master a bow, for a quick extra dmg when pvping. This is also the class I have tested to the most in pvp. It is a easy class to start off twinking with. Just go hands, and you can't go wrong.

Some like to use a claw in PvP at low levels, just make sure you have the ip, getting you needed nanoskills / evades are costy, and you need Ma / Brawling / Dimach as well. You can get far with only your hands. At higher levels, Toturing tools are good, or parry stick (more a pvm weapon than pvp). Some high level ma's also like to equip a River 6 to pack some extra Aimshot dmg.

Many make ma's opifex, and I would say they are best for low-level ma twinks. Hp can get a bit low, but you would make up for it in dmg output and twinkability (agi). Equipp some sense agi armor, or go str agi. (If you go solitus / atrox, you might want to go agi stamina, with some carbonum). The best ma suit for PvP is the red one, but the black one is carbonum friendly. (And it looks cool with ma suit boots ). Don't Twink you ma into a ma suit armor. Go for Steel-Ribbed instead.

Nano And Aiding: Drop Mat Crea, Mat Met. (I have put some ip into matcrea at low levels to add some to my ac.) You can leave out first aid too, but if combats are long, then you will need to use some nano first aid kits.

Mp And NT

i) Meta-Physicist

- The Meta Physicist is one of the most specialized professions on all of Rubi-Ka, preferring to concentrate all of his anger into a tangible form. Without his pets he is harmless and defenseless, which makes the Meta Physicist a tricky solo profession indeed. The Meta Physicist has much to offer his team in the way of specialist nano buffs, and also instills fear in enemies through the use of his powerful debuffs. Meta Physicists attuned with Notum are known to possess the ability to fly, making the Meta Physicist an interesting profession.

Mp's are nice at low levels. They have Attack Pet / Heal Pet / And Mez pet. And of course the nano buffs, teachings, masteries, infuses, and mochams. They also have Nukes and powerful debuffs. Their debuffs and nukes are not as powerful as their main weapons; the attack pet and the healpet. I know pet's in pvp is hard, but the mp has the advantage of having more than one pet, which makes it more difficult to take them down. You might want to stick a gun or go ma with your mp aswell. X-3 and novaflow are some nice ones. I know a certain ma mp that rocks my boxzors at rk2. People tend to use Nano breed for mp's. I would say solitus is a good alternative too. Nanomages tend to be a bit hp weak. Toss up the old str/agi armor and you are safe. (And of course carbonum). You might give Bronto armor a look too, easy to obtain the peices for a set (bronto oasis, north of Newland). (To bad the body armor is still a pain in the behind to get).

Under "Key Skills" in the manual they state that mp's have roots? *Shrug*

Abilities: Some good ac/twink ones of course. Might want to add some to Int to get that nanoskill up. Hp / Nanopool.

Body: Seen some ma mp's. Ma / Brawl for em (might want to add dimach if you have the ip).

Melee: Mp's have some summoned weapons. They are crap. (Mostly).

Ranged: Some use shotties, some use x-3, and some use bows. There is a huge thread about that here: link.

- The Nano-Technician is a highly specialized profession focused on one thing; dealing the most amount of damage to the target in the shortest amount of time. He is all about nano programs, always holding a large variety of damaging nanos in his arsenal. The Nano-Technician also has access to extra programs that enhance the effectiveness of his attacks to a fine and deadly art.

Nullity Sphere, alpha, nuke, win? The NT's are the nukers with big N. They have an impressive array of nukes to choose from, with all the dmg types. Some stun, some lowers nanoskills. And they all run on Mat Crea. Fun?

If you combine a good weapon with a good nuke, and some tactics, then you have your nt. They are weak hp vise, so killing as fast as possible is needed. Most NT's I know use a good Alpha weapon and some finishing nukes. There are also some that prefer a ithaca and some other types of nukes. If you get around to toss your NS, then you are home safe. But the first one of them starts at ql90. Below that, you would need a some other way. NT's also have attack rating debuffs, aswell as absorption shields. (Gives them an extra hp to absorb some dmg with.).

If you don't plan to do any more missions with you NT, then you can shave off some ip by resetting some nano skills; after all, all you need is Mat Crea . Nano breed is a popular choice, but same as MP, you will get a bit weak on the hp field. Atroxes are also some people’s choices. Carbonum / Bronto is nice, but you can mostly go with what looks good. I would steer away from nano armor, as you might end up with low chem ac.

Abilities: Agi / Sta / Int

Body: Ma Nt? Could be fun. But roots would be rather useless.

Melee: Same as above.

Ranged: Wide array of weapons, but IEC Flashpoint and CHS are popular weapons at high levels. X-3 and Ithaca are other good ones.

more

k) Soldier

- The Soldier is the master of firearms, and the pillar of any combat squad. He has a huge potential for dealing damage at long range, and the health to withstand being on the receiving end. The Soldier is lacking in most other fields though, but with the use of the proper nano programs he is so effective at dishing out damage, that anything else becomes insignificant.

But hey, dealing out damage, proved to not be the soldiers strong side. Soldiers rely on their total mirror shield. And with light colored ranged skills, you can use big alpha weapons, and you also have a great variety of weapons to choose from.

Most of the soldiers go the standard line, Nova Flow, and some sturdy strength / stamina armor. I would disagree, since both aren't that good at pvp. But then again, they also do ok, with the combination of a alpha weapon. If your twink reaches a high enough level, you might want to use this tactic, if not, you would have to go some other line.

In the upcoming patch (14.6), they are adding a lot of selfbuffable skills, like full auto, fling shot and so on, and also shotgun buffs. I have tried a shotgun soldier twink, and I must say, I am happy with it in PvP. Only problem was to equip a good shotgun, this might be easier with the new self buffs. (They are nerfing criticals down to 50%, so shotgun soldiers might be weak tho, I'll come back with more on that). Soldiers also have a couple of soldier only weapons, most of them are of no use, but the Division 9 gun is very viable, very comparable to the Novaflow.

Speed: Ranged Init, evades. (might want to pop some in run speed, but not needed).

Trade & Repair: Complit (!)

Nano & Aiding: Mat.Crea is the most important skill, bio met is not needed. Raise the rest to a normal amount. (Just remember time space for tms). First Aid and Treatment.

Spying: Nope.

Ups: Light ranged skills, Total Mirror Shield.

Downs: No Real healing, no other buffs in general.

Twink Points: +++ out of 5.

--

l) Trader

- The Trader is an unorthodox profession, the name coming from both the affinity for trade skills and the more symbolic trading or swapping of skills, health and more. He is at home in a team, as his sacrifices through nano programs are very valuable to his companions. The Trader is a very complex profession, and a very social one.

I’m going to leave this one open, and use it as a standard when I go through the other chapters of this guide. (I'll post a full implant chart, and where I have stuffed my ip).

Seems to me more like a regular play guide.
Twinking is about getting Q200 implants when you are level 80.
No offense intended, the guide is very informative for new players, but I think that people who start really twinking a character have been playing long enough to know all the 'ropes'.

Stay tuned, im only covering the first steps here, choosing a proffesion. And imo, twinking is more about level 1-74. As long as they have the PvP brackets. 74+ is.. Well. At level 80, you would not stand a chance, no matter what against a 150+ guy.

And as a sidenote, it might be ok for a first timer to have a look at the guide aswell, running around as level 30 nekked with ql1 imps aint fun ;D

Oo, arr, I forgot, and I have also neglected the next upcoming part a bit, need to let 14.6 sink in, it stired muh main a bit (ma) so, im playing up a Doctor I'll have a look at bows again tho, check what is good nowadays. (Been testing schyuler/pow bow/tube bow on my doctor).